Warsaw, Missouri,
the County Seat of Benton County, is a small town of some 2,100
permanent residents, which, just about doubles during the lake season
as fishermen, campers, and lake enthusiasts move down to their
seasonal homes or just come for the area opportunities. Warsaw
is located between two of Missouri's
largest lakes -- Truman Reservoir and Lake of the Ozarks.

Rich in
history, from Native
Americans to steamboats, to Civil War
skirmishes, Warsaw has endured throughout the years to become a
quickly growing community that exudes small town charm and provides
numerous recreation opportunities for locals and visitors alike.

When
white explorers came to the area in 1719, a number of Indian
tribes called the region home, including the Delaware,
Shawnee, Kickapoo, and Sac and Fox. By far; however, the land was occupied by
the OsageIndians,
from which, the river would later take its name. With its plentiful
supply of rivers and springs, the area abounded with game, providing
superb hunting grounds for the Indians.
In its bluffs and hills, the Indians found abundant amounts of flint
rock in order to make arrows, knives and other weapons.

Early French hunters, trappers, and traders soon began to trade with
the Indians
along the Osage River, which by the early 1800s, increased
significantly as white settlers saw increased opportunities on the
river itself.

The
area that would become the town of Warsaw was first settled around
1820, primarily by Kentucky
and Tennessee farmers of English, Irish and German descents. Early on,
the settlement became a crossroads of travel and freighting. The first
ferry was established on the Osage River in 1831 by Lewis Bledsoe,
located where the site of
Bledsoe
Ferry Park, near Truman Dam, is located today. Bledsoe's Osage Ferry
served the Boonville-Springfield Road, parts of which were also called
the Old Military Road or Wire Road, east of town. Another ferry was
later established by Mark Fristoe to the west. Soon, numerous freight wagons,
stagecoaches, and wagon trains began to pass through the area.

One of the
earliest residents of Benton County was Stephen A. Howser from Kentucky.
He and his wife,
Sarah (Sally) Wyatt Howser,
settled in the area that would soon become Warsaw around 1831. Later, they
would deed part of their land on the Osage River for the new township.
Alas, they would also be the parents of a boy who would later make his
name known in Missouri's
darker annals of history as a murderer and a thief.

BentonCounty
was first created on January 3, 1835, from parts of Pettis and Greene counties and named
for Thomas Hart Benton, United States Senator.

The county "offices”
were initially held in a home near Bledsoe’s Ferry, which was doing a
brisk business. In 1836, the Gazetteer of Missouri described the
new "town,” which was then referred to as "Osage” or "New Town” in
promising terms, including plans for a great hotel, mills, warehouses, and
merchants, as well as predicting a population of several thousand over the
next five years.

Town lots for Warsaw were first sold in
February, 1838, and the town slowly began to grow. The first Benton County
Courts met in various homes in the area but a new site was soon chosen at
the corner of Washington and Van Buren Streets (where the county jail now
stands.) Money was raised for a new "temporary” courthouse building
through lot sales and a 20’x 30’ log building was constructed. Two years
later, construction on a permanent two-story courthouse began. The new
structure cost $4,500 and county officials began to occupy the new
building in 1842. The following year, the City of Warsaw was officially
incorporated.

Missouri Historic Book Collection - 30 Historic Books on CD - The
Historical Missouri Book Collection includes 35 volumes relating
to the history of
Missouri and its people primarily in the 18th and 19th
centuries. Several of the volumes have great period illustrations and
portraits of relevant historical figures. Includes such titles as A
History of Missouri (1918), Gleanings in Missouri History
(1904, The History of Missouri from the Earliest Times to the Present
(1922), and dozens of others.